Forces of Social Change
“Everyone over the age of
forty is an immigrant”
- Margaret Mead
What is Social Change?
♦ Changes in the way society is organized, and the
beliefs and practices of the people who believe in
it
♦ All societies are involved in a process of social
change, however this change may be so subtle and
slow that society is hardly aware of it
♦ Example – the development of housing in Markham
Aspects of Social Change
♦ The opposite of social
♦ Social continuity
change is social
continuity
♦ Social continuity is
not the absence of
change because
change is always
happening
means that there are
structures within
society which are built
to resist change
♦ Example - the
Catholic Church
Natural Forces of Social Change
GEOGRAPHY
♦ This is when the natural lay of the land has
affected the way societies have developed
♦ Things like bodies of water, mountains, inlets, flat
lands all affect the way a society develops
♦ Geography can also prevent social change
♦ Natural disasters can also drastically change a
society (floods, earthquakes, volcanoes)
Examples
♦ China’s geographical layout forced the nation to
develop a large scale irrigation system which
required a strong centralized government
♦ North American coasts have small inlets which
led to the development of small, separate
colonies, able to be independent of each other
External Events
Definition
♦ External events are events that have occurred
on a large scale affecting an entire nation or
several nations
♦ These events have a large and immediate
impact on social change
Examples
Any civil or world wars
♦ American Civil War – abolished slavery
♦ WWII – forced women into the workforce
and they never returned home
♦ September 11/2001 – a change of thought
regarding national threat and security
Technology
♦ Technology has strongly affected the way
societies are designed and how they keep
changing
♦ People receive their information more
quickly now, can communicate in different
ways
♦ Technology also affects architecture and the
development of land
Examples
♦ The Plow
♦ The Train
♦ The Wheel
♦ The Internet
♦ Computers
Force
Geography
External
Events
Technology
Charismatic
Leadership
Modernizing
Elites
Population
wanting
Change
Tradition
Expense
Definition
Example
Alienation
♦ Durkheim coined the word”anomie”to describe the conditions of the
factory workers who had no roots norms as they struggled in their lives
♦ Marx took this term and expanded it mean anyone who does not share
the major values of society and feels like an outsider
♦ Alienation can create anarchists – people who act violently against
society because they were alienated
Columbine shootings
Theodore Kaczynski, also known as the Unabomber is an American
terrorist who attempted to fight against what he perceived as the evils
of technological progress by sending mail bombs to various people
Conformity
♦ Conformity is the act of maintaining a
certain degree of similarity (in clothing,
manners, behaviors, etc.) to those in your
general social circles, to those in authority,
or to the general status quo. Usually,
conformity implies a tendency to submit to
others in thought and behavior other than
simply clothing choice
Conformity
♦ Informational influence – is the human
desire to accept information that another
admired person tells us is valid
♦ Normative influence – is the pressure to
conform to the to the positive expectations
of others
Affecting Social Change
Alienation
♦ Has both positive and
negative effects
♦ It can create reformers or
people who create
outstanding ideas
♦ Or people who are angry
about being outcasts and
express their frustration
violently
Conformity
♦ Conforming to others
tends stifle social
change because
everyone is behaving
the same
♦ Pressure to conform
can result in negative
behaviours such as
increased racism,
bullying, sexism